June 20, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1423

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SANGHAR, June 19: Hundreds of farmers joined a small team of irrigation staff to plug successfully a 150-feet breach at RD-80 section of Khipro Canal near Rajpar Mori of Bakhoro sub-division on Wednesday.

Spillage from the ruptured section had, however, already submerged scores of villages, including Abbas Arain, Ghazi Khan, Soomar Bugti, Gul Muhammad Bugti, Sohrab Khan Laghari and Khan Muhammad Laghari. Crops, mainly chillis and cotton, harvested on hundreds of acres were washed away.

Soon after the breach occurred, on Tuesday morning, residents of the affected villages started moving to safe places.

The DPO, Ghulam Qadir Thebo, Executive District Officer, Tanveer Qureshi and Nazim of Khipro taluka, Haji Khuda Bux Dars supervised the plugging work and the villagers’ shifting process.

NEW TROUBLE: In an effort to minimise the pressure of water at the site of the breach, the irrigation officials had diverted the flow to Chhotiari Minor. The move, however, resulted in another breach at Iqbal Burdi village.

The weak section of RD-01 of Chhotiari Minor could not stand the strong currents that swept through the uninhabited village and barren fields coming in its way.

The irrigation staff and people moved to the affected area and were trying to plug the breach till filing the report.

CAUSES: Some of the people, affected by the Tuesday’s breach in Khipro Canal, told this correspondent that such tragedies were not natural. They asserted that extortion and illegal practices on the part of certain irrigation officials were the actual causes.

They claimed that the officials used to extort money from those seeking irrigation water and normally charged Rs500-600 per Paher (Paher is a unit equivalent to three hours of water supply). Growers indulging in such bargainings usually negotiate a bulk of 56 Pahers a week.

To cater to their needs, they said, the officials created breaches.